News 06:00

BULLETIN 27 February 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Two South African recruits lured to fight in the Russia-Ukraine conflict have died
# The cabinet welcomes the 2.67-trillion-rand budget
# And, the Danish prime minister calls a snap election

# Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, has confirmed that two South African men who were lured to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war have died. It is not known how they died. Lamola has emphasised that the pair were not among the 17 South Africans recruited allegedly via the MK Party as contract soldiers in the Russian military. He says the two were part of another recruitment scheme which took them to Moscow:

# Cabinet has welcomed the 2.67-trillion-rand national budget, as it will help support government priorities and provide tax relief to citizens and businesses. The budget includes additional allocations to strengthen crime-fighting efforts, with more money directed to defence and policing operations to combat organised crime. It also includes adjusted tax brackets. Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni told the media the spending plan supports economic growth while maintaining responsible financial management:

# The Advertising Regulatory Board has welcomed the South African Bookmakers’ Association as its newest member, strengthening self-regulation of gambling advertising. The move will help develop industry-driven rules to protect consumers, with a focus on online gambling. The draft gambling advertising code is currently open for public comment until Friday. The association’s CEO, Sean Coleman, says joining the board reflects the association’s commitment to ethical advertising and responsible industry standards.

# The DA says the defection of former ActionSA councillor Mandla Nyaqela and others from five Soweto branches reflects growing support for its governance approach. Nyaqela cited frustration with ActionSA’s top-down leadership and lack of internal democracy as reasons for leaving. The DA’s Johannesburg mayoral candidate, Helen Zille, says the new members believe the party offers the best chance to improve service delivery and restore stability in the city:

# Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, says the country will hold an early general election on the 24th of March. This comes as opinion polls suggest her handling of US president Donald Trump’s repeated threats to invade Greenland has provided a much-needed popularity boost for the prime minister. Frederiksen, a centre-left Social Democrat who has held office since mid-2019, has proposed a wealth tax to fund schools, promising to secure the future of the commonwealth and pledging to hold Europe together. She currently heads a government with the Liberal Party.

# Rugby: The Sharks’ Springbok winger, Edwill van der Merwe, says they realise they should improve their aerial contest after struggling in that division against the Lions last weekend. The Durban team lost the United Rugby Championship match 34-22, and face the Bulls at Loftus tomorrow. Van der Merwe says they were very disappointed with the result at Ellis Park, but believe they can do better in Pretoria. A bonus-point victory will see them clinch the competition’s South African Shield for a second consecutive season.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 15-rand-93-cents and the euro at 18-rand-79-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-47-cents and Bitcoin trades at 67-thousand-541-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-181-dollars-10-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 70-dollars-87-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….